Darkness in Light
by The Silversage
Summary: There are times when Kari seems so distant. Why does she keep her friends from getting too close? And why does she wear those gloves all the time? Contains spoilers from "His Master's Voice" dark takari
1. Part 1: Secrets Revealed

_The first time I posted this, it came out all screwed up.  The spacing was all weird and I had originally had all the character's thoughts italicized but apparently, when I converted this to a text file, all the text was set back to the default.  So hopefully this will make more sense now that I fixed it.  Expect chapter 2 soon._

Disclaimer- I do not own Digimon, Playstation, the game Tony Hawk 2 Proskater (which is an awesome game therefore, yes, I am shamelessly plugging it) or any other products mentioned in my story, they belong to their respective owners.  So please don't sue.  I have no money.  So you would just be wasting your time.  And if this story resembles anyone else's, its purely coincidental.

            This fanfic is a kind of mushy takari (t.k. x kari), with a hint of taiora (tai x sora), mimato (mimi x matt), and kenyako (ken x yolei).  (Be kind, it's my first digific)  It's R for mature themes (masochism-which I in no way support nor encourage), violence in later chapters, and language.  I got the idea for this when I asked myself a simple question.  Why does Kari wear those long-sleeved gloves all the time?

Ó2001

________________________________________________________________________

**Darkness in Light**

~by  The Silversage

**Part I:  Secrets Revealed**

**Monday 2:27A.M.**

          Kari woke with a start to find the room she shared with her brother swimming in grey mist.  She fought down the usual panic;  she could feel the darkness rising around her, threatening to swallow her again.  "Not again!", she whispered as she scrambled down from the top bunk and raced to the bathroom locking the door behind her.  "No!  I'm not going back," she cried into the ever-thickening mist while digging through a drawer.  "Where is it?!" she cried frantically pulling the drawer from the counter and dumping the contents on the floor.  It was growing stronger, the darkness inside her.  Her hand finally closed around the shiny metal rectangle.  She stood over the sink and pulled the sleeve of her left arm up.  With two careful movements, two red lines appeared on her arm.  She sighed with relief as she watched the red liquid run down her arm and drip into the sink.  As before, the grey mist around her slowly faded.  She could feel the anger and frustration of the darkness around her as it was forced to retreat.

          Satisfied the darkness was gone, Kari turned on the faucet and held her arm under the cool water.  She reached out with her right arm to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the small bottle of Midol where she stashed her vitamin K pills.  _Tai never pokes around that stuff_, she thought to herself swallowing a pill.  Once the bleeding had stopped, she gently dried her arm, pulled her sleeve down over the pattern of lines crisscrossing her arm, and set herself to picking up the mess on the floor.  She tucked the razor in the medicine cabinet next to the 'Midol'.

          Leaving the bathroom, Kari quietly made her way through the dark bedroom to the ladder of the bunk bed.  She was silently thankful that Gatomon, Augumon, and Tai were all sleeping soundly...or so she thought. "Kari?"  She froze, wide-eyed, halfway up the ladder.  She looked down slowly to see Tai leaning out from the lower bunk, a worried expression on his face.  "It's 3:00A.M.  What are you doing up?  Are you feeling ok?"

          "O-of course, Tai.  I-I just went for a glass of water," Kari stammered, not daring to meet his worried eyes.  "Stop worrying and go back to sleep Tai," she said with a fake smile, "or you'll fall asleep in class."

          Tai nodded and watched her climb the rest of the way to her bunk before lying back down.  He couldn't help but feel that something was 'off'.  "Kari?  Are y-"

          "I'm fine!" she muttered through gritted teeth.  Her whole body was tense, hoping Tai would just drop the matter  After a long pause, she finally heard him roll over in the sheets and murmur 'Goodnight'.  She breathed a sigh of relief, letting out the breath she'd been holding.  Kari lay on her back staring at the ceiling.  She hated lying to her brother.  She hated lying in general;  she was a terrible liar.  "But there's just no other way,"  she told herself, "He wouldn't understand."  And with that final thought, she drifted off to sleep cradling her now sore left arm.

**Tuesday 12:35P.M.**

          "Hey, mind if I join you?"  T.K. asked, walking up to Kari and Yolei's lunch table.

          "Nope," Kari said with a smile.

          "Go right ahead," Yolei smiled, noticing how Kari blushed ever so faintly when T.K. slid into the bench next to her.

          "What were you two laughing about a minute ago?" he asked, oblivious of Kari's blush.

          "Oh, I was telling Kari how Poromon got into my stash of pixie stix Sunday.  He was tearing around my room for three hours with the mother of all sugar highs," Yolei muttered, rolling her eyes.

          T.K. smiled at the image that created in his head.  "So," he began turning to Kari, "we still on for today?"

          "Yeah.  Your place or mine?" she asked with a smile.

          "Yours.  Tai's coming over to study for a test with Matt...,"he started.

          "You mean play Playstation."

          "...Yeah, and they're too loud."  T.K. finished.

          "You two have a hot date or something?" Yolei asked with a sly smile as she watched her two friends look up at her, each turning on interesting shade of red.

          "Yolei!?" Kari exclaimed, thoroughly embarrassed, "We're just studying for an exam."

          "Sure you are," she replied, her voice dripping with over-exaggerated sweetness.  Yolei laughed inwardly watching them squirm. 

          "Who's got a hot date?" a familiar voice asked.  T.K. stifled a groan as Davis sat down on Kari's other side.

          "Kari and T.K.," Yolei answered sweetly, ignoring Kari's silent pleas to keep quiet.

          "What?!  What are you going out with T.C. for?" Davis exclaimed.

          "It's T.K.," T.K. corrected half-heartedly.  _Geez, how hard is it to remember two letters?_

          "It's not a date," Kari muttered rubbing her sore arm through her long-sleeved gloves absently.  "We're just going to study for a test."

          "Oh," Davis said feeling better.  "Can I come?"

          "You don't even have that class," she cried exasperated.  _I am** so** going to get Yolei back for this._

          "What's wrong with your arm?" T.K. asked, who had been watching her closely.

          "Huh?" she asked, her concentration broken from a multitude of revenge fantasies.

          "Your arm," he said motioning to her left arm, "Did you hurt it?"

          "Oh...um," Kari dropped her arms to her sides nervously, "It's nothing...I'm just...cold."  She tried to keep her expression neutral even though her insides were twisting with guilt from lying to her friends.

          T.K. frowned when he noted the way Kari seemed to just 'shut down' after he asked about her arm.  Something was definitely off.  _I don't think she was telling me the truth._  He sighed as he listened to Davis trying to convince Kari to go out with him.  _I'll let it slide...for now._

**Tuesday 3:58 P.M.**

          "Hey T.K.," Kari said opening the front door, "Come on in."  She backed away from the door to let him in.  "Where's Patamon?"

          "Back at home," he said rolling his eyes good naturedly, "Matt got him hooked on the Playstation.  There's no prying him away from that thing."

          "It's just as well," Kari said with a small grin, "Gatomon's not here either.  She went with Sora to find a birthday present for Tai."

          T.K. froze.  "Damn, I forgot about that.  It's week after next, right?"

          "Yeah.  On Friday," she smiled, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

          T.K. sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.  "Well, I guess we'd better get started."

          T.K. glanced up from his textbook to find Kari rubbing her arm again.  He frowned again, _She can't possibly be cold.  We're sitting in the sunlight!  It's HOT!_

          Kari rubbed her arm, careful to keep her expression blank.  Sitting in the sunlight was making her arms perspire under the gloves and the cuts were stinging...badly.  _God!  I wish I could take these off!_

          "Still cold?" T.K. asked casually, sitting on the floor across the coffee table from her.

          "Huh?", she asked, looking up with a start.  "Oh...um...yeah, a little," she answered with a weak smile.  "I'm gonna get something to drink," she said a little quickly as she stood, eager to avoid any more questions.

          T.K. frowned again.  He felt...hurt...and a little angry.  _She's lying.  That was an outright lie_, he fumed.  _Kari's NEVER lied to me!  I want answers.  NOW._  In one lightning quick move, he grabbed her wrist as she passed him on the way to the kitchen, holding tight to keep her from pulling away.  Warning bells rang in his head when he saw Kari pale and stare at him wide-eyed.  She looked scared.

          _No! No! No! No! No!_, her mind was screaming when she felt T.K. grab her arm.  "What are you doing?!" she asked in a rush, an ice cold wave washed through her body coiling in her stomach.  _No!  Not T.K.!  Anyone but T.K.!  Please T.K., No! _ Some part of her mind still thinking logically told her to pull away, get away, before he could see what she had done.  But she couldn't.  Full on panic rooted her to her spot.  T.K. was reaching for the top of her glove;  she closed her eyes tight and waited for the ax to fall.

          T.K.'s frown deepened when he saw the fear, the pleading in her eyes.  She was trembling.  The worry he previously felt solidified into cold fear and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he found.  He reached for the top of her glove with his free hand.  He turned her wrist so the inside of her arm was facing him and tugged her sleeve down...and all rational thought fled.

          He stared wide-eyed at the mess of white and pink scar lines on her arm with two angry red lines, obviously fresh.  He clenched his jaw as first a wave of cold fear washed through him only to be replaced by...anger...rational thought returned.  He jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders.  "What the HELL do you think you're doing!!!", he yelled, punctuating each word with a few well placed shakes.

          Kari opened tear filled eyes to look at him.  Anger.  Pain.  Fear.  She had done this to him.  She had hurt him.  Her best friend.  She hadn't meant to.  Kari let out a choked sob, pulling away from T.K., and ran for the relative safety of her room, slamming the door behind her, locking it.  She leaned back against the door and burst into tears, sinking to the floor.

          T.K. ran after her when she pulled away, only to be confronted by her closed door.  "Kari?", he asked trying the door.  His anger had drained out of him at the sight of her tears.  She was crying now;  he could hear her.  He hated it when she cried.  "Kari?" he tried again, "Please, open the door."  Again no response.  He leaned his forehead against the door and sighed.  _Don't shut me out, Kari. _ "I'm not leaving until you talk to me."  Still no response.  "Please talk to me, Kari."

A half hour later found them sitting back to back with the door between them with their knees drawn to their chests.  "Why, Kari?" T.K. asked, breaking the silence.

          "You wouldn't understand," she whispered, leaning her head back against the door.

          "I want to," he answered.

          "It keeps the darkness from reaching me."

          "...," T.K. wasn't sure how to react to that one.  "You're right.  I don't understand."

          "The dark mist.  It keeps coming back," she elaborated.  It suddenly seemed very important that he understand.  "It won't leave me alone."

          "The dark ocean again?" he asked suddenly very alert.  He remembered that day vividly.  When she had nearly phased out in the middle of class;  when she had disappeared without a trace.  He still had nightmares about that.  He had thought he'd lost her.

          "Yeah," she replied softly.  "It feels like it's inside of me.  Keeps trying to drag me back."  She felt near tears again.

          "So why the arm?" T.K. asked, trying to process this new information, "Why did you...um..."

          "Cut my arm?" she finished.  "I'm not sure why, but it helps."

          "...," he paused for a moment to think that one over.  "How?"

          "I don't know," she confessed.  "It makes the mist go away.  I think it weakens it," she said hazarding a guess.

          "Hurt you to hurt it?" he asked.

          "Something like that," she answered softly.

          "Isn't that a little extreme?"

          "I don't know what else to do," she sobbed, crying again.  "I don't want to go back there.  I just know something horrible will happen if I let myself get pulled back there."

          T.K. was silent for a moment;  he had never seen Kari frightened of anything.  She had always been the 'stable' one, the anchor for the group.  Now, she seemed on the verge of shattering completely.  "Kari?" he started, hesitantly, "No matter what happens...I'll always be here."

          She almost gasped in shock.  He knew.  He knew the horrible secret she'd been keeping for months.  And he didn't hate her.  She opened the door so suddenly, T.K. nearly fell in.  He righted himself quickly enough to find Kari standing before him looking even more like the angel he knew her to be with sunlight illuminating her from behind giving her hair a gentle halo.  Before his mind could form a coherent thought, she flung herself against him locking her arms around his waist, sobbing full force.  For a moment, T.K. was at a loss at what to do before his arms came up around her shoulders of their own accord.  Kari buried herself closer against his chest feeling somewhat comforted by his tight embrace.  He kept quiet, letting her cry while she spilled out every detail of the last terrifying few months.

          "T.K.?" she whispered when her tears finally subsided.

          "Hmm?"

          "Thank you."

          "For what?" he asked, somewhat bewildered.

          _For not hurting me...For trying to understand...For not leaving me alone..._ "For...being you," she finally managed.  He answered with a gentle squeeze to her shoulders.  She allowed him to navigate the both back to the living room, reluctant to release him.  

T.K. steered the two of them back to the living room settling himself at one end of the couch with an arm around Kari's shoulders with her leaning against him, semi-stretched out.  She still hadn't let go.  Not that he minded.  He blushed lightly, somewhat glad that she didn't have a good view of his face at the moment.  Her breathing sounded slow and even.  _She must be falling asleep_, he mused.  He carefully reached forward and pulled his history book from the coffee table to his lap, not wanting to wake her.

          "T.K?"

He froze for a second, afraid he had woken her.

          "T.K.?  Please don't tell Tai," she pleaded with a whisper.

          T.K. tensed, looking down to meet her dark eyes, silently begging him.  He closed his eyes and sighed.  "Okay.."

Kari let out a breath she didn't remember holding.

"On one condition," he amended, "Don't do this again."

She nodded.  "Okay."

"Promise me, Kari," he pressed.

"I promise," she whispered.

          Somewhat satisfied, he let her drift to sleep.  He tried desperately to concentrate on the textbook in front of him but found he just couldn't.  His eyes kept drifting back to her sleeping form against him.  His best friend.  His love.  Who had gone through such agony alone for the past few months.  All because she would_ not_ let anyone know she was having a problem.  She had always been like that.  _Sometimes Kari, you really scare me._

**Tuesday 8:30 P.M.**

          "I can't believe we didn't do a lick of studying," Tai muttered, fishing through his backpack for his apartment key.

          "You're the one who rented Tony Hawk  2," Matt pointed out watching his friend open the door.

          "Oh yeah," Tai said with a sheepish laugh, "I forgot."

          Matt rolled his eyes and walked in after Tai opened the door.  He walked to the end of the foyer only to come to a dead halt at the living room entrance.

          "Hey!  What's the deal?!" Tai exclaimed, having just walked into Matt.  Matt only stared wide-eyed ahead of him and pointed.  Tai followed his gaze...and felt his mouth drop open in utter shock.  There, fast asleep on the couch, were Kari and T.K., arms still around each other.  Kari asleep on his shoulder and T.K. with his cheek resting on the top of Kari's head.  "Whoa.  Did I miss something here?" Tai asked turning to Matt frowning, "I think I'm seriously gonna have a talk with your brother about this."

          "Forget that, man," Matt laughed, "Where's your camera?"

          Tai slowly grinned with an evil gleam in his eyes.


	2. Part 2: The Coming Storm

Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon

Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon or any other licensed products in this story.Don't sue, I'm broke.

First, I'd like to thank the people who wrote such sweet reviews for part 1 and the two people who e-mailed mePlease write to me all you want, I love reading them.Thank you so much and don't worry, this will be a multi-chaptered story and I have quite a ways to go so I hope you all stay with me till the end.I apologies for any grammar mistakes.

I had this chapter (part, whatever) already written when I posted part1 but I held back on posting it till I had finished part 3.I wanted them to be posted together.It will be a long wait till part 4 comes out and I'm really sorry about that.But the summer class I'm taking is really killing me and studying has to come first (or I get my computer rights revoked).So expect future parts to come at a snail's crawl but they will come.Now, on with the story.Warning: expect angst ahead.But don't worry too much.I hate angst;it makes me sad.

Darkness in Light 

**~by**The Silversage

Part 2: The Coming Storm

Two weeks later 

**Friday 4:25 P.M.**

** **

"Hey guys!Come on in," Tai said opening the door to let Matt and T.K. in.

"Happy Birthday, man!" Matt smiled, slapping his best friend on the back, "Are we the first one's here?"

"Nope.Sora and Miimiii are here," he teased.Matt flushed at the mention of the strawberry-haired girl's name.

"Taaiii!Not in front of the kid," he hissed gesturing to T.K. with his eyes.

"Like its not totally obvious," T.K. muttered rolling his eyes."Um…Is Kari around?"

"Your **girlfriend** is in the kitchen with the others," Tai smirked.

T.K. rolled his eyes again and headed for the kitchen trying to ignore the snickers from Tai and his brother.Ever since they had caught him and Kari asleep on the couch, they'd been absolutely impossible, taking every available opportunity to interrogate them about what happened that night…or embarrass them.He pushed open the door…and stepped into a war zone.

Pots and pans were scattered everywhere and a fine coat of flour was covering the entire kitchen.Sora was trying to attack the gigantic pile of dirty dishes in the sink while Mimi was standing on the counter, emptying the cabinets.

"Sora, I think its safe to assume there is absolutely NO icing anywhere in this kitchen," Mimi said.

Sora sighed tiredly, glancing at the mess Mimi's search had left."Don't worry about it Mimi.We'll just use the whipped cream with a little food coloring. Oh, hi T.K."

"Is Matt here?" Mimi asked, hopping down from the counter.At T.K.'s nod, she slipped out the door before he could actually say anything.

"Hey!" Sora yelled, turning off the faucet and racing after her, "Get back here Mimi, I'm not cleaning this up by myself."

T.K. smiled after them before heading over to Kari who had holed herself up in the far corner of the kitchen, cutting strawberries for the cake.He looped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. "Hey, how are you holding up?" he asked softly.

Kari leaned into him slightly, "Pretty good, actually," she answered with a smile, "This is the longest I've gone without…you know."She felt him give her another squeeze and looped an arm around his waist, content to stand there in silence.She smiled to herself thinking over the last two weeks.T.K. had been her constant shadow, never leaving her side.The fact that they had the exact same schedule helped.It made her feel…safe…to have him near.Now, her biggest problems were: Davis, who, having noticed the two of them hanging out more was always trying to pick an argument with T.K., and…

"Hey!You two need a chaperone?" Tai teased leaning over the counter from the living room.The two jumped apart guiltily.

"TAI!" she yelled grabbing a cup towel and throwing it, aiming for his head.Tai caught it in midair and headed for the couch laughing."Jerk!" she yelled at his retreating back.

"I have a really bad feeling he and Matt are going to be more obnoxious than usual today," T.K. muttered.

"Well, we'll just play it cool and if they want a show, we'll give them a show," Kari smiled with an evil gleam in her eyes.T.K. glanced sideways at her before a slow smile of understanding spread across his face."Deal?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Deal," he smiled, shaking her hand.

**Friday 4:45 P.M.**

** **

"Is everyone here?" Tai asked glancing around the living room filled with friends, old and new, and their respective digimon._It's a good thing Mom and Dad are out of town for the weekend_, he thought looking around at all the digimon.

"Yeah, everyone's here," Yolei nodded, "Davis couldn't make it because his family's visiting his grandmother for the weekend."Kari tried not to giggle at T.K.'s sigh of relief.

"And Joe and Gomamon are going to be late," Izzy added.

"So what do we do first?" Matt asked.

"How 'bout Truth or Dare?" Mimi suggested.There was a mass groan from every guy in the room save one.

"What's Truth or Dare?" Ken asked.Ten pairs of eyes stared at him incredulously.Izzy, who had been taking a sip of Coke, promptly started choking, which set off Tai and Matt laughing at him.

"It's a game," Yolei started, ignoring the two boys.

"Yeah, that every girl thinks **has** to be played whenever there's a gathering of more then two people," Tai added sarcastically, once his laughing was under control.

"Tell me about it," Matt muttered.

"Hey!" the girls exclaimed.Cody wisely leapt of the couch as four pillow cushionsheaded for Tai and Matt…who didn't move as quickly.

"Oww."

"They're only pillows you big baby!" Mimi muttered grabbing one of the pillows off the floor and hitting Matt on the shoulder."That's for insulting my suggestion."

"I didn't say it.Tai did," he protested.Tai laughed as he watched his friend's beating.

"How did we wind up related to **them**?" Kari muttered to T.K.

"You got me," he murmured.

Tai and Matt glanced up to see their younger siblings whispering to each other.They exchanged evil grins."We're in," they said simultaneously.

"I'm not," Cody said.

"Good, you can sit with me," Izzy smiled. "I find it much safer to be a spectator when it comes to **this** kind of game," he said softly once Cody sat down, pulling out his video camera, "and the perfect opportunity for future blackmail."

"My attitude exactly," Cody said smiling back and pulling out his instant camera.

"Can we play?" Augumon asked.

"No!" Byomon and Palmon shouted.

"You don't **want** to play.Trust me!" Palmon exclaimed.

"Yeah.Mimi and Sora play this **all** the time so we **know**!" Byomon added, "Of course, seeing as how we don't wear clothes, I don't think any of **us** could flash someone from the window."This was followed by silence and a mass dropping of jaws from everyone except Mimi and Sora who were blushing furiously.

"BYOMON!" Sora shrieked.

"You did What?!" Tai exclaimed wide-eyed as Sora buried her face against Mimi's shoulder.

"Did you catch all that?" Cody asked Izzy, who was zooming in on Sora and Mimi.

"Yup."

"Okay Sora, Truth or Dare?" Mimi asked.

Sora glanced at her warily. _If I say Truth, she'll probably ask me something really embarrassing about Tai._"Dare."Mimi leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"No fair.We want to hear," Yolei said.

Sora's face suddenly flushed scarlet."I can't do THAT!" she exclaimed.

"Aw, come on.It's his birthday," Mimi pleaded.

Tai's interest perked up realizing he was the subject of the next dare._Mimi probably dared her to kiss me or something_, he thought hopefully.He and Sora had been pretty much dubbed the 'unofficial couple' by the others, which was fine by him.But both of them had been taking things slow;neither one were ready yet to risk their friendship.

Sora sighed and walked over to stand in front of Tai, aware of everyone watching her curiously._At least I'm wearing a bra this time_, she thought to herself grabbing hold of the bottom of her shirt.

Tai watched her walk over fully expecting her to lean down and kiss him.He was **not** expecting her to lift her shirt up in front of him…or to see so…much of **her**.Only two words were passing through his head on endless repeat._Oh. God._

Sora walked back to her seat thoroughly embarrassed.But she had to admit, Tai's expression **was** priceless._Still is_, she corrected herself sitting down again.She received a mass applause from everyone except for two people.

"Tai, breathe already," Matt said shaking his wide-eyed friend who was still in shock.

"Tai, Truth or Dare?" Sora asked, still a little pink.Tai didn't answer, completely spaced out with a lop-sided grin on his face."Tai?Oh, never mind," she muttered, "Matt, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

Sora and Mimi exchanged wicked grins and Mimi handed Sora a tiny black bag which she passed to Matt."Go put this on but no peeking till you're in the bathroom."He accepted the bag warily and held it out at arms length heading for the bathroom.

"So, what's in the bag?" Yolei asked eagerly.Everyone leaned forward.

"You'll see," Sora smiled sweetly.

"Keep those camera's ready," Mimi told Izzy and Cody, "I want copies."

"There's No Way In HELL I'm Wearing This!" Matt yelled from the bathroom.

"You'll wear it or I'm coming in there and putting it on you!" Mimi yelled back.There was a long pause from the bathroom.

"Is that a promise?"

"Moron," Mimi crossed her arms in front of her chest sinking into the couch blushing.Sora, Yolei, and Kari giggled at her embarrassment.T.K. and Ken exchanged smiles.The smiles and giggles turned into hysterical laughter when a very red and sulking Matt finally came out of the bathroom, still wearing his pants but shirtless wearing a **very** risqué black lace teddy.

"What in God's name are you wearing?!" Tai managed to gasp out finally.

"Ask your **girlfriend**.It's her idea," he returned sitting next to his so-called best friend who took that moment to actually fall off the couch he was laughing so hard.Ken and Yolei were leaning against each other as were Kari and T.K., all gasping for air. The corners of Matt's mouth twitched upwards as he remembered his whole reason for playing this game in the first place_.Laugh it up, little brother_, he smirked, _You're going down next._

"I'm really glad we're not playing," Gatomon whispered, passing a bowl of popcorn to Patamon.All the digimon were engrossed in watching their human friends embarrass and humiliate each other.

It was another five minutes before everyone settled down enough for the game to continue."T.K., Truth or Dare?" Matt asked shooting glares at the occasional snickers around him.

_Oh man.He's probably going to ask me something humiliating, like if I'm in love with Kari_, he thought with a frustrated groan_.I can't ever let her find that out.I know she'd never feel the same_, he mused, sneaking a glance at his best friend beside him."Dare."

An evil smile spread across Matt's face."I dare you… to kiss Kari.And I mean a **real** kiss."He almost burst out laughing at the wide-eyed panicked expression on his brother's face._A deer caught in headlights_, he smirked.

Kari glanced at T.K. catching his terrified, panicked expression.She quickly averted her eyes trying to ignore the icy hand clenching her heart._I guess I don't blame him_, she thought squeezing her eyes shut so no one could see her hurt expression._Having to kiss your best friend…must be like having to kiss your sister_, she sighed in disappointment.

T.K. felt his heart drop into his stomach at her disappointed sigh.His left hand clenched into a tight fist as he stood up and offered her a hand up.

"It's okay, T.K.," she whispered with a forced smile, "Just play it cool, remember?"

"Yeah," he murmured apprehensively.

"Come on!We want some **action**!" Tai yelled from the couch.

Kari shot her brother a glare before turning back nervously to T.K.T.K.wasn't at all sure of what to do with his hands and finally settled them lightly at her waist while Kari rested hers on his shoulders._Here goes nothing_, he thought taking a deep breath and leaning down.

Kari closed her eyes, listening to some inner voice that told her to tilt her face up and before conscious thought could stop her, she leaned up on tip-toe, meeting T.K. halfway._Oh God!_, was her last coherent thought as she melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep her balance.

T.K.'s eyes popped open in surprise when Kari initiated the kiss, too shocked to react at first.When he felt her press against him and her arms wind around his neck, he lost any semblance of control as he abruptly tightened his grip around her to keep her from pulling away.She gasped, startled by his actions and he took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss.

He silently cursed the Fates when lack of air forced him to pull away.He rested his forehead against hers trying to drag in enough air to his oxygen starved lungs and he could feel her own shuddering breaths against the hollow of his neck.He opened his eyes reluctantly, half expecting her to slap him for being so forceful.When he finally met her chocolate eyes, he was vaguely surprised to find no trace of anger.Instead, there was only confusion and something else he couldn't quite identify.He was trying to search out what that something else might be when a 'click' from Cody's camera brought him back to earth.

He set her down gently, both surprised and embarrassed to find he'd been holding her a good two inches off the ground all this time.Kari stepped back, putting some distance between herself and T.K., and looked away trying to look at anything **but** him.At least until her heart stopped pounding.Blushing furiously, they both sat down with as much dignity as they could, glancing around the room at their silent friends, most of which had their jaws hanging open.Kari's gaze settled on Tai who was somewhere between dumb shock and glaring at T.K.She glared back."So was that enough action for you two pervs?" she shot at him and Matt.Matt nodded, still in shock, finally getting his mouth to close while Tai just glared right back at her. "Why can't you two just read dirty magazines like normal guys?" she teased, leaning to the side against T.K.

T.K. looked down at her in confusion before remembering their little 'deal'._We're supposed to pretend we're already a couple_, he reminded himself.With a slight smirk in their brothers' direction, he casually draped an arm around her shoulder."It's still my turn, right?" he asked, ignoring the death glare Tai was giving him.He hoped to God Kari couldn't hear the way his heart was still pounding.

"I do believe it is," she answered with a similar thought, playing along.She tried not to giggle at Tai, who was fuming at T.K.

_Matt, you are so going down for this_, T.K. mused sending his brother an evil smile that promised future revenge and retribution_.But not just yet.I'll have to wait till you let your guard down._"Ken, Truth or Dare?" he said suddenly.

"Truth," he answered immediately.After seeing the last round of dares, he didn't want to take any chances.

"What do you think of Yolei?" T.K. asked with a sly grin.He struggled to keep a straight face as Ken dissolved into a stammering fit, turning redder and redder.

As it turned out. Someone else beat him to the punch in exacting revenge.

"Matt, Truth or Dare?" Kari asked with an expression far too innocent.

"Dare," he answered confidently.He had no doubt that either Kari or T.K. would try to get him back by making him kiss someone.He risked a quick glance at Mimi, who was squeezed into the same easy chair as Sora._This'll be fun_, he mused to himself.

"I think turn-about's fair play, don't you?" she asked, looking up at T.K.

"Ohh yeah!" he grinned back at her.

She stood up and casually walked over to Sora and Mimi's chair."Matt," she began, "I dare you… to kiss…," she stopped and leaned over the top of the chair, "…Tai."She chuckled evilly at his and her brother's stunned expressions while everyone else burst out laughing."Payback's a bitch, isn't it."

Tai just sat in stunned silence, oblivious to everyone's laughter.He hadn't realized she even **knew** that word, let alone could come up with a dare like **that**.Matt, however, jumped up from the couch yelling.

"What kind of sadistic, psycho are you?!" he yelled."Taiii! **Do** something about this, she's **your** sister."

"That's right, she **is** my sister," Tai said slowly standing up, throw pillow in hand.Kari tensed."And right now, she needs to be TAUGHT A LESSON."He launched himself at her only to land on the carpet as she took off with a scream.The chase was on.Everyone watched on in amusement as Tai chased his sister with the pillow.

"T.K., Help me!" she screamed when Tai cornered her in the kitchen.

"Watch the cake!" Mimi and Sora yelled.

"Ooo, help me T.K.," Matt mocked in a high pitched voice, "Save me, sa-" **BAM!**T.K. hit Matt square in the face with a pillow."That does it," he muttered grabbing a pillow, "Get over here!"

What ensued was a massive free-for all pillow fight with the occasional "Watch the camera!" from Izzy and a few "Watch the camera crew!" from Cody.Tai finally managed to pin Kari to the floor in the hallway and was tickling her when someone knocked on the door."Come in," he yelled before realizing his mistake.

Everyone froze as the door swung open to reveal a soaking wet Joe, briefcase in hand, coming from a late exam with Gomamon right behind him.He walked in and took in the sight before him.Tai had Kari pinned to the floor frozen in mid-tickle, Matt was sitting on T.K.'s chest with a pillow raised, ready to hit him again, and Mimi and Sora were faced off against Ken and Yolei, all armed with pillows.He could also, just make out Izzy and Cody behind the couch filming and clicking away.The digimon had retreated to Tai and Kari's room as soon as the pillow fight broke out.He smiled to himself setting down his briefcase."Nice shirt Matt.Is that a new look?" he quipped.

Matt looked down, having forgottenhe was still wearing the black lingerie."Aaah!" he yelled running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Joe smiled and offered T.K. a hand up."Let me guess, Truth or Dare?"

"Yeah," T.K. said with a frown, noticing the way Kari winced when Tai pulled her to her feet grabbing hold of her left arm. 

"Sora or Mimi?" Joe asked.

"Sora," he answered, "Why are you all wet?"

"If you all hadn't been so busy beating each other, you would have noticed that its raining cats and dogs outside," Joe said with a grin.No sooner had he said that when a loud **BOOM!** Of thunder crashed overhead.There was a mass scream from the girls: Sora and Mimi hugging each other, Kari trying to permanently attach herself to her brother, and Yolei squeezing a very red Ken.

**10 minutes later**

** **

"Man, it's really coming down out there," Matt mused watching from the sliding glass balcony door.Everyone was plastered to the window, watching, or in Izzy's case, filming the storm and eating cake.

CRACK.

"What was that?" Sora asked.

CRACK…CRACK.

"Is that hail?" Cody asked.

CRACK.

"Looks like this just became a sleepover," Tai said with a sigh."I don't want anyone going out in **that** mess."Everyone looked up as the lights flickered for a second."Kari-"

"I know.Get the candles," she sighed, heading for the kitchen.

Tai grabbed the cordless phone and tossed it to Sora."Let's start calling parents," he told her.

**Friday 10:00 P.M.**

** **

The girls were gathered in Kari and Tai's room while the boys agreed to 'camp out' in the living room.The digimon had all returned to the digital world, courtesy of Izzy's laptop due to lack of sleeping space.The electricity and phone lines had been out for at least the last hour.

"Here," Kari said handing Yolei one of her old night shirts, "You can wear this one."

"Are you sure?" Yolei asked.

"Oh sure.I haven't used it in ages myself," she answered, fingering the short sleeves of the night shirt absently.She turned to the two older girls, deep in thought."I don't think you two will fit any of my pajamas.You're both too tall and I'm all out of night shirts."

"We can sleep in what we're wearing," Sora started.

"No, you can wear some of Tai's pajamas," Kari exclaimed pulling out two pairs and tossing one to Mimi.

"You're sure he won't mind?" Sora asked.

"Nah.He definitely won't mind you wearing them," Kari teased lightly.The three girls smiled as Sora blushed furiously.

Sora and Mimi had barely finished changing when Tai walked in heading straight for the closet.

"TAI!" Kari yelled throwing her pillow at him, "Can't you ever knock!"

"Sorry!I'm just getting the extra blankets," he muttered from the closet.He backed out of the closet, loaded down with blankets, turned around, and came face to face with… "Sora…um…nice pajamas."

"They're yours," she answered, nervously twirling a lock of her short auburn hair."I hope you don't mind."

"No not at all," he answered absently, lost in her eyes, "You look good in my clothes."The girls in the room burst into giggles and Tai fled the room after turning fifteen shades of red.

"He really likes you, you know," Kari smiled to the girl she had always considered like an older sister.

"You think so?" Sora asked pensively, "I never thought he'd see me as anything other then his best friend."

"Speaking of which, what about you and T.K.?" Mimi asked slyly.

"Yeah, that was some kiss," Yolei teased from the top bunk, "I didn't know you two were dating."

T.K. sighed as he lifted his hand to knock on the girls' door.Tai had left the room so quickly, he forgot the extra pillow in the closet and was refusing to go back to get it.

"We're **not** dating."

_Wait, that sounded like Kari_, he thought, pressing an ear to the door.

"It sure looked that way to me," Mimi teased.

"Look, Tai and Matt have gotten it in their heads that T.K. and I are more then just friends," Kari explained, "They've been impossible for the last two weeks.So we thought we'd play up on that and hopefully get **them** off our backs."

"So you two were just acting?!" Sora exclaimed, "Wow!You had me totally fooled."

Mimi grabbed one of Tai's soccer trophies off the bureau."And the winner of this year's academy award is Kari Kamiya," she said handing the trophy over ceremonially to a giggling Kari.

On the other side of the door, T.K. slowly backed away from the door wishing he could erase what he just heard.In an instant he felt his heart be crushed.He leaned against the hallway wall his hands in fists trying not to burst into tears.Once he felt he had sufficient control, he headed back to the living room, glad of the dark shadows from the flickering candles.He flopped on the carpeted floor burying his face in a couch cushion.

"I thought you were going to get a pillow," Ken asked from the floor next to him.

"Don't need one," he mumbled sullenly, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow.Ken cast him a worried glance but kept silent.

Back in the bedroom, Kari slowly stopped giggling and handed the 'Oscar' back to Mimi."You should give this to T.K.He's the one who did all the acting," she said with a sad smile.

"You mean you **weren't **acting?" Sora asked softly, pulling Kari down to sit between her and Mimi on the lower bunk, Yolei leaned down from the top bunk, watching.Kari bit her lower lip and closed her eyes before slowly shaking her head."And he has no clue how you feel, huh?" Sora pressed.

"No," Kari answered softly.

"Oh, Kari," Sora whispered pulling the younger girl into a tight hug.

"Don't you worry Kari," Mimi put in brightly, "It'll all work out."

"You think?" Kari asked with a shaky smile.

"I promise," the pink-haired girl said with a bright smile.

**Saturday 1:32 A.M.**

** **

Kari jerked upright in a cold sweat, panting for air._Please!Not again!_, her mind screamed as she looked around the room, slowly filling with a dark grey mist.She swung herself over the top of the bunk onto the ladder as quietly as possible so as not to wake Yolei or the other two girls on the lower bunk.

In the living room, T.K. was tossing and turning.He just could_not_ get comfortable with that couch cushion.He finally gave up all together and sat up.The only light in the room was coming from Izzy's lap top.He got up and made his way over to Izzy who was too engrossed in his computer to notice him.T.K.'s curiosity rose when he noticed that Izzy was biting one of his knuckles to keep from chuckling.He peeked over Izzy's shoulder…to find himself staring at the footage of him and Kari in full lip-lock."Izzy!" he hissed.

"Ahh!" Izzy yelped, jumping a mile.

"What_are_you_DOING?!" T.K. fumed in embarrassment somewhat surprised that no one had woken up.

"Oh!Um…I was just…sort of…um…timing you?" Izzy answered struggling to keep a straight face watching T.K. turn redder and redder."Did you know you two went at it for four minutes and twenty-three seconds?"

"Izzy!Not so loud!" T.K. hissed, glancing at the other guys still sleeping while Izzy laughed softly.They both turned around when they heard the sound of a door opening and quick footsteps.Kari rushed by without giving them a second glance almost slamming the bathroom door behind her.

"Kari?" T.K. whispered to himself in bewilderment.

Kari fumbled blindly in the dark for a moment before finally lighting the candles she had left there earlier.She threw open the medicine cabinet reaching for the razor and quickly pulled up her left sleeve.It was getting harder to see with the thickening mist.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly dragged the razor over the inside of her forearm once, then twice.Pain.The second one had gone deeper then she intended.She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth making sure to keep her arm over the sink.The corner of her mouth twitched upward as she watched the mist recoil almost violently from her, from the pain._That's right.Just back off._She tilted her arm so the blood could drip in more easily._Can't stand the pain, huh?_, she mused directing her thoughts to the dark mist around her.She frowned when she noticed the mist was starting to creep back around her again._That's never happened before._She ran the razor against her arm again.Like before, the mist recoiled, but after a minute or so it started in again.Kari slashed her arm again, trying to fight down the panic threatening to overwhelm her.This time the mist hardly reacted, closing around her like a blanket;she couldn't see the counter she **knew** she was leaning against.In the distance, she could hear the soft crash of the ocean._Please no!_

T.K. stumbled in the dark over to the bathroom door.Something just didn't feel right.

"Kari?" he asked, knocking on the door softly, "Is everything all right?"No answer."Kari?" he tried again, "You okay?"Still no answer.He tried to ignore the rush of fear that ran through him._Okay, don't panic.Maybe she didn't hear me._"Kari?What's going on?" he asked a little louder.Izzy was now staring at him, but he ignored it.He tried the doorknob.Locked.

_Now panic!_"Kari!Open the door!" he commanded, ignoring the fact that the rest of he guys were starting to wake up.

"You know, we **do** have another bathroom," Tai mumbled sleepily from the couch, not bothering to open his eyes.

T.K. ignored him, pounding on the door now._Kari, NO!_, his mind screamed, _You promised._He was in full panic mode now."Damn it Kari, OPEN THIS DOOR!" he shouted, twisting the knob as far as it would go pushing against it as hard as he could, trying to force the lock.

The girls came out of the bedroom, curious to see what the commotion was.Izzy was watching silently from the computer;Joe, Ken, and Cody were watching from their respective makeshift beds.Tai and Matt exchanged looks of concern before getting up and making their way to T.K., still yelling at the door.

"HIKARI KAMIYA, OPEN THE FUCKING **DOOR**!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.He backed up a bit before ramming the door with his shoulder with little success.

Matt growled low in his throat.He'd had about enough of T.K.'s unusual behavior and even though he hated to admit it, it was starting to scare him."**Hey!**" Matt yelled angrily, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, "What the **hell** is **WRONG** with you?!"He immediately let go when he saw the pained, barely contained panic in his little brothers eyes, silently pleading with him.He gave T.K. a nod of understanding.The two brothers backed up before ramming the door with their shoulders simultaneously.

"What's going on?" Sora asked softly, moving next to Tai.

"They've lost their minds," he muttered in a monotone trying to ignore his 'big brother' alarm which was screaming full tilt.The wood of the doorway cracked ominously as Matt and T.K. hit it again.

"Joe, get over here," T.K. called backing up for one last run at the door, "I'm gonna need your help."Joe stood up and drew near, clearly confused.

Matt gave T.K. a questioning look but T.K. just stared straight ahead at the door, determinedly.With one last rush at the door, the tortured wood finally gave way with a loud CRACK!Matt froze in utter shock at the sight in front of him._Oh God!_, he thought, closing his eyes.


	3. Part 3: Revelations

Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon or any other licensed products in this story

Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon or any other licensed products in this story.Don't sue, I'm broke.

I did it.Wrote my first kiss scene.You have no idea how hard that was for me.It was the most nerve wracking thing I've ever done.

I hope you see now why I had to post 2 and 3 together.I hate cliffhangers.It always makes me mad when I start getting into a story and I have to wait a month for the next chapter to find out what happens next.I didn't want to do that to y'all.This one doesn't have much action but it needs saying and I promise there will be more action in part 4.Part 4 will be kind of long so it will take me awhile.I humbly ask your patience.Please do write to me.(It gives me the extra incentive to write faster.)

Darkness in Light 

**~by**The Silversage

Part 3: Revelations

**Saturday 1:43 A.M.**

Matt could only stare in horror as T.K. rushed past him into the bathroom.Kari was lying on the floor, unconscious, in a fetal position, clutching her bleeding arm.The bathroom rug under her was slowly becoming soaked with blood and there were drops of blood on the sink, a small razor lying innocently on the counter.T.K. wasted no time gawking, grabbing a towel from the rack and gently freeing up her injured arm, pressing the towel against it.

"Oh dear," Joe gasped from over Matt's shoulder before pushing past him.He quickly knelt by her side, checking for a pulse.Matt finally broke from his shock when he felt a hand squeezing his upper arm in a vice-like grip.He turned slightly to see Tai, with a horrified expression on his face, watching the tragedy unfold before him.

"Mimi, call an ambulance," Sora cried, pushing her towards the living room.

Joe gently lifted the towel T.K. was holding down to take a look at the extent of the damage, eyeing him out of the corner of his eye.He was both surprised and somewhat confused as to how 'in control' the younger boy seemed to be over the whole situation, and at how he hadn't seemed surprised at all when they had found Kari like this.But those were questions he'd have to save for later."She only fainted but we've got to stop the bleeding before she loses any more blood."He spoke loud enough for everyone at the door to hear him but his eyes were directed only at T.K.

T.K. didn't back down from Joe's gaze which was neither angry nor accusatory but urging, silently, for him to go ahead and come forward with any information that could help._He knows_, T.K. realized carefully keeping his surprise from reaching his face._He knows I knew about this._He hesitated only an instant before giving Joe a quick nod.He let Joe take over holding the towel over Kari's arm and stood up, heading resolutely to the medicine cabinet.

Joe sighed softly as he watched T.K. rifle through the cabinet.He had been hoping he'd been wrong about T.K.'s involvement in Kari's…incident.But he had no time to dwell on that now."Tai, where do you keep bandages?And any sort of antiseptic cream or spray would help."Tai slowly dragged his gaze away from his sister and Joe almost smiled when he saw the determination and commanding look in Tai's face that had lead them all through so much in the Digital World.

He crossed the room briskly, pulling out a first aid kit from the linen closet and sat down to help Joe wrap his sister's arm.He glanced up for a moment to see T.K. opening Kari's bottle of Midol."T.K., I don't think that's going to do any good," he told him.Joe and the others, watching silently from the doorway, followed his gaze to where T.K. was shaking one of the pills out onto his palm.

"They're not Midol," he answered not bothering to look at any of them.He stared at the pill in his hand for a second._Can't swallow a pill if you're not awake._His chest constricted slightly at that thought but he pushed it aside and quickly grabbed one of the small plastic cups next to the sink and filled it with water.He carefully pulled apart the two halves of the gelcap and shook out the fine powder into the water.He gave it a quick stir with his finger and handed it to Joe.

"What is this?" Joe asked, accepting the mixture.

"Vitamin K," T.K. answered tonelessly.Joe nodded and lifted Kari into a sitting position carefully getting her to swallow the water.

"What's that supposed to do?" Tai asked worriedly.

"It's a mild coagulant," Joe answered without looking up.

"Huh?"

"It helps you clot.Stops the bleeding," T.K. muttered repeating Kari's words to him from two weeks ago, not taking his eyes off her.He missed the sharp look of suspicion that both Tai and Matt in the doorway gave him and the confused whispers in the hallway wondering how he knew where to find them.He had other worries on his mind.

He blinked sharply, and desperately hoped he had just been seeing things.He watched his best friend closely, willing himself not to blink._There!It happened again!_She flickered, for a split second, like interference of a television signal._Just like in algebra._He bit his lip thinking back to what she had told him before.

_"The dark mist.It keeps coming back…it won't leave me alone."_

He hadn't understood.He truly hadn't completely believed her when she told him the dark dimension was trying to pull her back.He thought it was all in her head, that he was dealing with some kind of depression of hers._I'm sorry, Kari_, he apologized, _I didn't believe you._His inner musings were halted when Tai lifted up his injured sister and carried her to the living room.He got up and followed mutely; his thoughts paused when he felt his brother's hand drop heavily onto his shoulder when he passed him, falling into step beside him.The pressure was **not** meant to reassure, and T.K. had no doubt that he had quite a bit of explaining to do.He arrived in the living room, half walking, half pushed by Matt, just as Tai was setting Kari down on the couch.T.K. frowned when he noticed her phasing again.The frown faded when Tai stood up again, and stared right at him looking furious.

"All right, T.K.Now what the** Hell** is going on!"Tai demanded just short of yelling.

Darkness.Kari slowly opened her eyes…and shut them immediately.Ugh, too bright.She lay there on her stomach, trying to get her bearings.Somewhere in the distance, the sound of the crashing waves could be heard.Her hand contracted slightly around something smooth and slightly sharp._Grass?!Wasn't I just in the bathroom?_Deep down, she knew the reason.She was just refusing to acknowledge it.

Not really wanting to, she forced her eyes open, only to come face to face with a pair of vaguely familiar shadowy legs._Oh God!_As she tried to force herself up she felt something cold and metallic touch the back of her neck.A searing, red hot pain…and all went black.

T.K. backed up a step as Tai advanced on him.He'd never seen Tai **this** angry before.He looked to Matt pleadingly for support, and blinked when he found his brother looking just as angry.

"You **knew** didn't you!" Matt yelled at him, "You knew she's been doing this and didn't** tell** anyone?!What were you thinking?!How could you be so irresponsible?!"T.K. glared back, his fists clenched at his side, trying not to think about how much his brother's accusation hurt.

"Stop yelling at him, you two," Sora said calmly, crossing the room to T.K., "You're not helping any."She placed her hands on T.K.'s shoulders and gently turned him to face her, forcing him to look at her."T.K., they're right you know," she continued gently, "If you knew Kari was in some kind of depression, you should have come to one of us, or her parents.What if she had tried to kill herself with no one here to stop her?"

He jerked out of her grasp angrily."Kari_would_**never**_do_that!" he hissed at her, "And she is **not** depressed."Sora took a step back; she had never seen the younger boy angry before.

Matt shook his head, turning away from his brother.His brother had always been so stable and mature for his age.He couldn't believe that T.K. could be in denial like this._Especially now_, he mused sadly, glancing at the still unconscious Kari lying on the couch.

Tai had been taken aback slightly when Matt had beaten him to the punch, yelling at T.K.But he got over it quickly enough."Just how long have you been hiding this?" he asked in a calm, quiet fury.

"Tuesday before last," he answered softly, staring at the carpet.

Tai's eyes widened slightly in shock.That's the day Matt and I caught them on the couch._They weren't trying to have a romantic moment, she was probably pouring her heart out to him_, he realized grimly._And all I did was tease them._He felt his anger draining away only to be replaced by the same cold fear he had felt every other time his sister had been seriously ill."Why didn't she just come to me?" he asked, more to himself than T.K.

"She didn't want you to know," he answered, "She…asked me not to tell you.She…was afraid of…letting you down."

Tai closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to fight back his coming headache.

"Umm…Tai?"

"What is it, Mimi?" he asked tiredly, opening his eyes again.She was standing next to Sora twirling the cordless phone in her hands nervously.

"I tried to call for an ambulance but the phones are still out," she told him sadly, "I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault, Mimi," he answered glumly.

"Tai."Joe called him over to Kari's side."Look, her pulse is pretty steady and the bleeding's under control.She's fairly weak right now but I should've been able to get her at least partially conscious by now," he said softly, pushing his glasses higher back up his nose.

"What are you trying to say?" Tai asked sternly.

"I can't get her to wake up."

T.K. gave a wry snort from behind Tai."Of **course** she's not waking up; she's not even here."

Everyone looked to him in confusion."T.K. …What are you talking about?" Mimi asked gently voicing everyone's confusion.

He looked down at Kari frowning softly.Another flicker."They've got her.They've taken her again," he muttered more to himself then to the others, "I'm sorry, Kari.I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me."

"Who's got her?What are you talking about?" Tai asked in mounting confusion.

"She's in the dark dimension.They've taken her back to the Black Ocean," he said hanging his head down."I'm sorry, Tai.I've let them take her again."

The others exchanged looks of confusion.Tai glanced at Matt for an explanation to which Matt shrugged.T.K. just wasn't making any sense.

"T.K., what are you talking about?Kari's right here," Ken finally voiced, watching his former enemy turned friend with true concern."Besides, you have to be in the Digital World to reach the Black Ocean."

"We weren't in the Digital World the last time we were there," he answered, "And what do you mean 'what am I talking about?'She's phasing in and out right **now**," he cried in frustration, staring past them to the unconscious form of his best friend and object of his devotion.

His fellow digidestined turned in unison, staring at their fallen comrade, trying to understand what he was talking about, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Come on, T.K.," Sora said softly, steering him to the easy chair, pushing him down into it with gentle pressure."I know you're worried about Kari, but we need you to keep it together, okay?" she said in concern, "For Kari's sake."

"But…," T.K. stopped as he glanced around the room at everyone watching him various expressions of concern, sympathy, and pity_.What's wrong with them?Can't they see it?!_His gaze fell back to Kari's wavering form, not wanting to see their looks of pity._Kari, why can't they see it?_

Tai turned away from T.K. running his hand through his unruly hair._First Kari, now T.K.'s losing it.Can anything else go wrong?_

"Izzy!Are you there?"

"Aaah!"Izzy jumped a mile before sitting back down in front of his laptop; he had completely forgotten he had left it on."Gennai?!"

"Izzy?Good.You're there.I need you to gather the digidestined.We've got a problem."

"They're all here except for Davis," Izzy answered tiredly.

"Good.I've already reached Davis.I need T.K., Kari, Cody, Yolei, and Ken here, pronto.We've got problems."The brown-haired man moved away from the digiport screen to reveal several of the digidestined's very worried digimon…and a pitch black sky

Izzy took a double-take, noticing the time on the digiport before glancing at the starless sky."Gennai…it's-"

"Yes, I know.It's mid afternoon here," Gennai finished somewhat impatiently, "The sun just went dim all of a sudden and I haven't been able to figure out why."

"Well, we've kind of got problems of our own," Izzy answered quietly after receiving an annoyed look from a pacing Tai. "Umm…it's Kari.She, umm…tried to commit suicide."He whispered the last few words but didn't miss how Tai flinched when he said them.

"No she didn't," T.K. muttered from his seat earning him a few concerned and pitying looks from the others and one exasperated look from Tai.

"What?!" Gennai exclaimed."Hold on!" Izzy backed away from his laptop as Gennai materialized in the stream of light from the digiport.He glanced around the room of silent, somber people, acknowledging the pacing Tai with a nod before kneeling down next to Joe, waiting for him to finish taking Kari's pulse."Oh my," he murmured softly, gently fingering her bandaged left arm."What happened?" he asked, directing his question at Tai.

Tai's shoulders tensed."She locked herself in the bathroom and umm…," he gestured to his arm and Gennai nodded."We can't get her to wake up," he finished sadly.

"And she's not going to wake up till we find a way to the Black Ocean." T.K. shot, drawing sighs of pity and impatience from those around him

"That's enough T.K.," Matt hissed, effectively silencing his brother with a glare.

Gennai watched the two glaring each other down puzzling over T.K.'s statement before glancing back to Kari's still and flickering body._Could he possibly be **seeing** this?_, he wondered._This shouldn't be happening yet.It's too soon for the prophesy._He looked back up."We have no time for this," he told the bickering brothers."The Digital World has fallen into darkness and many of the virus type are taking advantage of the current confusion.I think Kari's condition does much to explain things, but I need you to help keep the digimon in line until the light can be restored," he said facing the younger digidestined .

"What does Kari have to do with the darkness in the Digital World?" Cody asked.

"She has the crest of light, genius!" Yolei snapped, heading for the digiport."Let's go, already!"

Ken gave Cody an apologetic smile before following Yolei.T.K. stood to follow but was stopped by Gennai's hand gripping his arm."You stay," he said softly.T.K. nodded and watched his friends disappear…only to be replaced by Patamon and Gatomon.Gatomon wasted no time in joining Kari on the couch, curling up next to her, careful of her arm, watching her with anxious eyes.Patamon landed on the back of the couch alternating his gaze between his two friends and T.K."Now," Gennai began, drawing his attention away from the digimon, "Explain to me why you believe Kari's in the Dark Dimension when she's lying right there."

With a sigh, he began retelling the events of two weeks ago, beginning with how he had noticed Kari nursing her arm at lunch that day and ending with Kari's tearful confession during their study date.He spared no detail, not sure he even could in Gennai's presence, giving him Kari's words verbatim.He kept his eyes on Gennai so he wouldn't have to watch Tai's face shifting between guilt at not having noticed Kari's secret sooner and hurt that Kari had confided in T.K. and not him.

When he was done, Gennai remained silent for a moment, steepling his fingers, deep in thought."T.K., what do you see when you look at Kari?" he asked finally.

"Huh?"T.K. felt a warm flush creep up the back of his neck, thoroughly confused.

The corner of Gennai's mouth lifted, noticing T.K.'s reaction."What are you seeing right_now_?" he clarified.

T.K. shifted his gaze back to Kari, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, fully aware that Gennai was watching him closely."She keeps phasing in and out.Kind of like when a tv's losing the signal," he paused, waiting to be shot down again.He was faintly surprised to find Gennai listening closely."It started while we were trying to stop the bleeding.It only lasts a few seconds about every five minutes or so.The same thing happened the last time she was pulled into the Dark Dimension."

"He's right," Gatomon piped up from Kari's side, "She did start flickering like this last time."

T.K. gave a soft sigh of relief. For a while, he was starting to wonder if he truly was losing his mind."It's different this time, though," he continued."Last time, it got worse till she almost disappeared.This time…it comes and goes."

"True.They did not take her bodily this time," Gennai explained, "This time they've only taken what they need.The dark dimension is growing stronger."

"What are you two talking about?We don't see anything." Matt protested.

"The effects of the Dark Dimension aren't visible to the human eye," Gennai answered.

"Then why can T.K. see it?" he asked glancing at his brother.

"I'm not quite sure yet.He shouldn't be able to see it." Gennai continued staring at T.K. a moment longer before shaking himself from some inner dialogue."You say this happened before.How did that happen?"

T.K. groaned to himself as the others leaned forward, waiting for his answer.The two younger digidestined had purposely played down the events from that day, not wanting to worry the older kids…Tai especially._When this is all over, Tai is going to kill me._

Dark Dimension (time unknown) 

Kari let out a low moan and curled herself into a tight ball.Her entire body felt sore and her head was pounding like crazy.She forced herself to open her eyes for the second time that day…and blinked.

She was lying on the floor in the center of a bright circle of light just large enough for her to stretch out.She sat up groggily trying to get her bearings.Wherever she was, it was dark.She couldn't see past the spotlight.She raised herself on her hands and knees to get up when her forehead hit something solid.Rubbing her forehead, she let out a soft curse trying to make out what it was exactly she had hit.Tentatively, she reached out with her hand only to be stopped by a smooth, clear surface.The hairs on her arms stood up and she could feel the throb of energy from the wall all the way to her bones.She followed the wall full circle._I'm trapped!_

"Enjoying your cage?" a voice asked from the darkness.

Kari pulled back abruptly from the edge."Who's there?" she cried.She gasped as a familiar looking creature, a living shadow with glowing yellow eyes steps up to the outside of the forcefield.It laughed harshly, watching Kari pull back to the relative safety of the circle's center.

"What do you want from me?I already told you guys I won't help you and I won't be anyone's queen!"

"**I** am **not** one of those traitors you met before," he sneered, "**They** have already been dealt with."Her eyes widened, as understanding dawned on her."Do not worry, Child of Light.You will not be harmed. At least not yet.Your power is far too valuable to us.And only one of the destined pair need be destroyed in order for the Digital World to fall to us.It won't be long now.The other will be here soon."

Kari frowned in confusion trying to figure out who he was talking about.She almost gasped when she remembered what Azulongmon had said about the crests of Light and Hope._Hope!T.K.!They're going to hurt T.K.!_, her mind screamed."You stay away from T.K.!" she yelled at her jailer angrily.

"**You be silent!**" he snarled back raising his arm threateningly to her.She was stunned to see the myriad of scars on his inner arm, but somehow it made sense."I have gone through enough trouble and pain to bring you here child, and if it were up to me, I would have slain you instantly.Be thankful my master is more merciful to you than I.Now," he said with an evil glint in his eyes, "I must go prepare for our guest."

He turned and Kari lost sight of him in the darkness but could hear him walking away.She hugged her knees to her chest and tried desperately to hold back her tears._T.K., please don't come after me!They're setting a trap for you!_

**Saturday 2:15 A.M.**

"Let's go through this again," Gennai frowned, "You were on the cliff and this 'portal' just…opened up?" T.K. nodded.After he had finished the tale, Gennai had begun trying to pinpoint **how** T.K. had managed to follow her in.Their long time mentor had admitted that he had never heard of anyone actually entering the Dark Dimension of their own free will;it had a tendency to rather draw people in against their will.Gennai was broken from his concentration by the heated whisperings of the two digimon on the couch."Is something wrong?" he asked.

The two stopped whispering almost guiltily."Umm…we didn't see any portal," Gatomon finally admitted, casting T.K. an apologetic glance.

"Yeah, there was nothing there," Patamon added.

"So what did you two see?" Gennai asked.

"Well, T.K. was yelling for Kari at the top of that cliff, and then he just…jumped off," Gatomon said, "Patamon flew after him and I thought they were both nuts, but I followed them anyway and when we landed we were in a different dimension."

T.K. skirted around Gennai and the digimon and sat at the edge of the couch at Kari's side, trying to tune out how he was the subject of discussion.He definitely didn't look to the older digidestined who had long since stopped trying to understand and were now glancing at T.K. like he had just grown a third eye.At any rate, he was feeling more and more uncomfortable.He reached out to hold Kari's hand._She's just so still. _He bit his lower lip and tensed up when he touched her.She felt…empty.That inner light, that incredible rush of energy that was Kari, that he had always sensed and taken for granted from her…was gone.He debated for a moment whether he should tell Gennai about **that** but decided he already felt like a big enough freak without adding more fuel to the fire.

He shifted to face her better and took hold of her other hand, lacing his fingers through hers, not really knowing why._Where are you Kari?_, he asked her silently.Distantly and very weak, he could just make out the faintest glimmer of energy.A crest._Kari! _He closed his eyes trying to focus on it.

"So, how do we find this portal T.K. was talking about?" Tai asked after Gennai had finished interrogating the boy.

"Frankly, I don't believe **we** can," he answered.

Tai felt the urge to just break out and cry;he felt so helpless.He didn't as Gennai's words caught up with him."What do you mean by 'we'?"

"I have two theories," he answered glancing over at T.K. who was sitting down on the couch, watching over Kari."Kari may have inadvertently been the one who opened the portal."The other kids nodded in understanding.Kari's immense and mostly untapped power was an unspoken fact among them."If that's true," Gennai continued, "then I don't know how we'll reach her unless by some fluke she creates another one."

Tai sighed trying to keep his hopelessness from reaching his face.A smaller hand slipped into his and gave him a reassuring squeeze.He looked down to meet Sora's determined eyes._No, there has to be **some **way._

"What was the second possibility?" Izzy asked before Tai could open his mouth.

"It's possible that T.K. may have opened the portal."The six digidestined gaped at him then glanced at T.K., then back to Gennai.

"That can't be.T.K. doesn't have any powers," Matt said.

Gennai shook his head gravely."Hope and Light are linked separately than the other crests.They hold the balance of the Digital World and as such also balance each other.They are equal in both strength and power.If he was the one to open the portal, then we may be able to reach…"He stopped abruptly feeling a powerful wave of energy pass through him.He jerked towards the couch to where T.K. was sitting with his hands still linked with Kari's;the wave was definitely coming from the boy.Before he could do more than blink, the young digidestined suddenly slumped over, unconscious.

"T.K.!" Matt rushed to his fallen brother. 


	4. Part 4: Awakenings

Disclaimer-  I don't own Digimon.

            I'm so sorry this took so long to put up.  I sort of *cough* lost my notebook *cough, cough* umm...for two weeks.  But I found it.  And then I lost another week of writing making these red, white, and blue ribbon-pin-things for my brother's high school.  Plus, revising this 50 million times. (Aah, the plight of the anal-retentive writer.)  And then, wouldn't you know it, I finally finish this and FFN is under construction.  So, again, sorry.

            Okay, in the last part, I had Ken believe that one could only reach the dark dimension (or rather it could only reach you) from the Digital World because the only two times in the series that I have seen him there, he was in the Digital World first before being pulled in.  And as for T.K. being the only one to see what was happening to Kari, in "His Master's Voice", not even the girl sitting right behind her in class saw anything happening to her.  T.K. was the **only** one in the room to see anything happening.  And in the scene where he jumped through the portal, if Gatomon had seen Kari reaching out like T.K. did, she would have said **something**.  That's how I got the idea that only T.K. for some reason could see all this.  I hope none of this confused anyone too badly;  it will all get clearer as the story progresses.  And also, I'm not a doctor so medical info in this story is the result of watching waaay too much "Rescue 911" and "M*A*S*H".  Except for the part about vitamin K being a coagulant.  The nice man at the Eckard's pharmacy told me that.

Darkness in Light 

**~by**  The Silversage

Part 4:  Awakenings

Dark Dimension 

          T.K. felt a rush of air pass him, like a breeze.  At the same time, he was vaguely aware of Matt yelling.  He sounded so far away.  He opened his eyes and turned, preparing himself for whatever new scolding he was going to receive.  _It's not like I don't deserve it, though_, he mused.  He blinked a few times when he found himself at the top of a grassy knoll overlooking the water.  The grass, the sea, and even his own clothes seemed faded and grey…and oh so familiar.  _I'm back!_, he realized in shock.  He had a sneaking suspicion that this time, it was definitely something **he** did.  He pushed that disturbing thought aside, breaking out in a run.  "I've got to find Kari!"

          Kari sighed, pacing back and forth in the small circle of space of her prison.  _What do I do?  I can't let T.K. come in here after me.  They'll hurt him!  Come **on**, Kari.  Think.  What would Tai do?_  She snorted softly.  _He'd probably already have a plan to get out of here and take half of those guys out too.  _She leaned back against a wall and slid to the floor tucking her knees against her chest.  "Face it Kari.  You're no Tai."

**Saturday 2:20 A.M.**

          Matt caught his brother before he slid to the floor.  "T.K., what's wrong?  Come on, man, wake up!  Don't do this to me!"  He reached over to break T.K.'s death grip on Kari.

          "Wait!"  Matt froze as Gennai rushed over and knelt at their side.  He placed the palm of his hand against the young boy's forehead and closed his eyes in concentration.  "He did it," he said finally, "He's in."

          The other five drew closer to Matt and Gennai.  "I guess we know who was responsible for opening the portal now," Joe muttered.  Tai and Matt each shot their friend a dirty look.

          Gennai cleared his throat to get their attention.  "We mustn't separate them," he addressed Matt gravely, "To do so would sever T.K.'s link to Kari and I don't know what that would do to him."  Matt nodded solemnly before carefully pulling his little brother back up to the couch.

          Tai shifted his gaze from Matt and Gennai to T.K.  _Bring my sister home, T.K._

          "I fear I must apologize to both you and Matt," Gennai said suddenly.  The six looked to him in confusion as he sat carefully on the coffee table.  "They are both in a great deal of danger and I am partially to blame."  He gave a long pause the others dared not interrupt before he continued sadly.  "It was foretold that the Dark Dimension would make another vie for power.  As Light and Hope hold the Digital World in balance, the loss of either would leave it open and unguarded.  I was supposed to have prepared them to face this," he confessed sadly.

          "So what happened?" Joe asked quietly, moving closer.

          "They're early." Gennai answered.  "I should have had another year.  Now, they're both trapped there on their own.  Kari has ample power but doesn't know how to use it and T.K. may be beginning to tap his own abilities but it takes the Crest of Light to be fully released.  They're not ready for this yet," he said with a sigh.  "T.K.'s only just turned thirteen, right?" he asked Matt.

          "Yeah, and I think Kari's still twelve," Matt answered, looking to Tai for confirmation.  Tai nodded.

          "I just don't understand.  They were supposed to be older," Gennai muttered.

          "Well," Izzy started, with an expression he usually reserved for solving calculus problems, "If you count all the time they've spent in the Digital World, Kari would actually be thirteen and T.K. would be close to fourteen."

          Gennai looked up sharply, mouth agape, having suddenly become very pale.  He let out a soft groan, burying his face in his hands.

Dark Dimension 

          T.K. ran through an abandoned town that looked for all the world as though the inhabitants had only vanished minutes ago.  He wasn't quite sure where he was heading…but the direction felt right.

          He stopped when the sidewalk ended at the edge of town to catch his breath.  Looking around, he found himself at the edge of a very familiar beach.  Jogging down the beach, he was drawn to the mouth of a large tunnel.  _I thought Kari said this thing collapsed_, he wondered before entering without a backwards glance.  A few odd boulders and support beams answered his previous question;  someone had cleared the tunnel.

          Once the tunnel entrance was out of sight, the tunnel veered sharply to the right and down.  About thirty feet down the incline, the brick walls ended exposing the cold stone of an ancient cavern system.  The dim string of lights overhead stopped with the brick wall.  Light was now provided by an occasional torch every twenty feet or so that burned with a blue flame that gave no heat.  A corner of T.K.'s mind took in the dramatic change in scenery…and temperature.  His tee-shirt and shorts did little to block the subterranean chill.  The majority of his mind, however, told him to stop gawking and keep moving.

          He wondered to himself why he had yet to see anyone else in the cavern.  The thought that this all might be some kind of trap crossed his mind.  _But it's too late to turn back now_, he reasoned.  _Besides, there's no one here to back me up._  He continued on, trying not to think of what he would do if he actually ran into trouble alone without Patamon.

          He slowed down cautiously upon hearing voices from one of the various side chambers.  He leaned against the stone wall at the corner of the passage way to hear better.

          "…according to plan, Master.  The other guardian will be eliminated soon and the invasion can begin unopposed."

          "Are you certain?" asked a second, deeper voice, "His power is as great as the girl's.  Take care that you do not underestimate either of them."

          "I think I am more than capable of handling the child," the first voice sneered, "He has yet to fully realize his potential;  he is helpless."

          "See that you do not fail.  For your sake."

          T.K. leaned back from the wall.  _Who were they talking about_, he wondered.  He figured the girl they spoke of meant Kari but the boy…_It can't be me!_  He hurried down the tunnel, eager to put distance between himself and the voices.  His mind screamed suddenly when he passed the next side passage.  He skidded to a halt and took a look down the tunnel.  There were no torches here, the tunnel just disappeared into darkness.  He cautiously began making his way in the darkness until the sound of someone crying began reaching his ears.  _Kari!  I'm coming._

          He took off running and by sheer luck, reached a side chamber without hitting any walls.  He couldn't make out how big the room was for the darkness but in the center of the room was a pillar of light at the center of which was…"Kari!" he cried, rushing forward.

          Kari jerked her head up from it's resting place on her knees.  "T.K.!" she cried out rushing to the edge placing her hands flat against the force field.  She made no attempt to wipe her tears away.

          T.K. matched his own hands with hers from his side of the barrier.  His heart leapt at the look of pure joy on her face wishing he could wipe away the tears from her eyes.  "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

          Kari nodded dumbly, lost in the blue sea of his eyes.  So lost, she almost didn't notice the slight movement behind him.  She blanched when she caught sight of two, glowing, yellow eyes directly behind him.  

          Seeing Kari pale suddenly, T.K. feinted left by pure instinct narrowly avoiding being slashed by the shadow creature's claw-like hands.  He only had time to catch a quick glimpse of the creature before a blow to his chest slammed him into the force field.  Stars danced before him when his head struck the barrier.  He vaguely heard Kari's scream through the ringing in his ears.

          "I see you finally made it, Child of Hope," the creature sneered, "In such a rush to die, aren't we?"  He leapt forward, intent on spearing the boy with his clawed hands.

          T.K. rolled to the side grabbing the creature's outstretched arm and yanked him forward into the barrier while he was still off-balanced followed by a knee to ribs.  _I'll have to thank Matt_, he mused, thinking over the last few years of roughhousing with his brother.  He backed away as the creature stood with a low growl, hardly fazed.  _Damn._  

The two combatants circled each other warily.  Now that he had time to get a good look at his opponent, T.K. realized he was much smaller than the creature…and lighter.  _This is not good._  He caught sight of Kari out of the corner of his eye.  She was frozen at the barrier wall, a hand to her mouth, trying not to make a sound for fear of distracting T.K.  But that backwards glance was all the distraction the shadow creature needed.  He lunged forward again.  T.K. jumped back, but his reaction was just too slow.  The demon tackled the smaller boy to the ground and raised a hand to slash the throat of his prey.  T.K. responded to the loss of one of the hands holding him down by rolling them till he was on top and landing a savage punch to his attacker's jaw.  In retaliation, the creature once more reached for T.K.'s throat.  T.K. had to use both hands, grabbing hold of the demon's wrist to keep the clawed hand from reaching its target.  With both hands occupied, he couldn't stop the demon's other clawed hand from reaching up and sinking into his vulnerable back.  T.K. screamed as the creature savagely raked his hand down his back, tearing deep.

**Saturday 2:37 A.M.**

          Matt sighed and leaned his head against his brother's, shifting uncomfortably.  The couch had been too small for both T.K. and Kari to lie on, so he was holding T.K. in a sitting position with his arms around his unconscious brother's waist, T.K.'s back leaning against his chest.  He could feel the occasional tensing of T.K.'s muscles as his body reacted to what ever world his mind was in now.  The slight movements had increased suddenly.  He wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

          He looked around the room at it's various occupants.  Tai was sitting on the love seat, starring into space with Sora at his side, leaning her head on his shoulder, equally silent.  Joe had disappeared to the bathroom looking for any first aid supplies he could find and Izzy was watching Gennai pacing the room.  _Probably counting him, too._  Matt pulled his head back up when there was a movement on the couch.  He looked to find Mimi had sat at the opposite end of the couch facing him and had gently maneuvered Kari's head to a pillow in her lap.  She offered him a reassuring, wavering smile before turning her attention back to Kari, brushing the hair back from the younger girl's face.  A hint of a smile touched his own lips watching her.  She was humming some English song softly.  One he recognized vaguely as a lullaby.__

          A particularly strong twitch from T.K. brought him back to the present.  He tried to shift his position a little bit, but found his shirt sticking to his brother's damp back.  _I don't remember T.K. ever sweating** this** much._  He leaned T.K. forward gently to separate them.

          Red.  The back of T.K.'s shirt was all red.  Three long crimson lines from between his shoulder blades running down diagonally to just below his ribs on his left side were spreading together to form one massive stain on the shirt's fabric.  "Joe!  Joe, **HELP ME**!"  Matt yelled in a panic, startling the others.

          Joe rushed out of the bathroom, arms still full of bandages.  Catching sight of the back of T.K.'s shirt from the hallway, he snagged up his briefcase from the floor, quickly slipping into 'doctor' mode.  "Hold on to him," he muttered to Matt who had leaned as far to the side as he could over Kari's legs while still holding T.K. steady.  A stern look from Joe sent Patamon and Gatomon scrambling off the couch.  The past year of training and drills took over as Joe pulled a pair of surgical scissors from his briefcase and began cutting the back of T.K.'s shirt open.

          His mouth fell open and he had to look away to settle the churning in his stomach.  Matt closed his eyes, a little green himself.  Joe looked up again after taking a moment to steel himself enough to examine the wound.  The deepest part of the wound was at the top which went deep enough to expose the ivory glint of an occasional rib, the shallowest still reaching into the muscle tissue.  His heart plummeted as he looked over the extent of the damage.  "Izzy…are the phones working yet?" he asked in a tight voice.  Joe closed his eyes when Izzy shook his head.  "Matt, I'm so sorry," he whispered looking down at his hands. 

          Matt stiffened as the implication of Joe's soft apology dawned on him.  "You're just **giving up**?!  Aren't you even going to **try**?!" he demanded angrily.

          "What do you expect me to do?" Joe muttered back tersely, picking up a roll of  gauze.  He started wrapping T.K.'s back with a quick, well-practiced hand.  "I'm only just finishing my first year of pre-med, Matt.  This is way out of my league.  He needs stitches and an emergency blood transfusion and God knows how many antibiotics to prevent secondary infection.  Even if the phone lines **were** working and there **was** no hail storm to slow down the ambulance, I couldn't guarantee he'd get there in time.  I'm sorry," he repeated a little gentler than his outburst.  A solemn stillness settled about the room as everyone accepted the very real possibility that they were about to lose one of their own.

          "What if we gave him a transfusion now?" Mimi asked quietly.

          "I don't usually carry i.v. bags of blood with me," Joe muttered somewhat sarcastically.

          "Matt, what's T.K.'s blood type?" she asked, ignoring Joe's comment.

          "A positive, why?" Matt answered.  Mimi didn't answer but instead slipped out from under Kari and began rifling through Joe's briefcase.  She stopped when she pulled out two sterile sealed i.v. tubes and two sealed syringes.  "Do you need these?" she asked.

          "It's homework," he muttered, sparing her a quick glance while wrapping a new roll of gauze over the first already blood-soaked bandage.  "I'm supposed to practice injecting medication into an i.v."

          "Well, you're taking a zero," she replied.  "Sora, I need a glass jar as clean as you can find and a sharp knife."  That said, Mimi stood and disappeared to the bathroom.

          Sora lifted her head and blinked a few times, before heading to the kitchen.  She wasn't used to Mimi taking the lead or being so forceful;  Mimi was never forceful.  She got back just as Mimi returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol.  She wordlessly handed them to her pink-haired friend wondering if Mimi had finally lost it.

          Mimi stabbed two small holes in the metal lid of the jar and opened the two i.v. tubes, working one end of each through the tight holes.  Joe was the first to guess what she was doing when she next opened the syringes and gently tugged the needles out.

          "Mimi, you can't be serious!  You are not doing what I think you are," he exclaimed in protest while she fitted a needle into the tapered end of each tube.

          "Gennai, I need you to hold this up high," she said handing the jar to him, lid down, before turning back to Joe.  "You can't just let him bleed to death," she replied handing him the two needles with one hand and the alcohol with the other which he took reluctantly, "I'm type A.  Take as much as you can."

          Joe held her gaze, trying to gauge how serious she was before giving in with a sigh and nod.  "Izzy?  Can you get into Odaiba High's student medical files," he asked, swabbing Mimi's arm.

          "Yes, of course."

          "I need you to find out who else among us are compatible," he answered.  A quick glance at T.K. confirmed that the blood was seeping through the second bandage.  "I don't think Mimi will be enough."

Dark Dimension 

          "Nooo!" Kari screamed.  Her captor shoved T.K. off and stood slowly.

          "You weren't quite the challenge I hoped you'd be.  Such a disappointment," he gloated over the injured boy.  He followed with a savage kick to the ribs.

          "Leave him alone!" Kari yelled pounding her fists impotently on the walls of her prison.  All her anger and fear welled up in her and her crest started to glow with a silver pink light under her pajama top.

          T.K. groaned as the creature landed another kick to his side and struggled to lift himself up on all fours.  He wasn't sure what his attacker had done to his back, but it hurt horribly…and his arms wouldn't stop shaking.  He gasped, feeling a hand grab hold of his hair and pull his head back roughly.

          "Perhaps I should do you the favor of ending your suffering quickly."

          T.K. tried not to shudder as a sharp finger traced the line of his neck from below his chin to his chest.  _I'm so sorry, Kari._  He cast her a last apologetic glance before shutting his eyes to await the inevitable.

          "Stop it!  Leave him alone!" Kari screamed again in anger and panic through her tears.  The iridescent pink light spread unnoticed from her crest engulfing her with a glowing aura.  Beneath her hands, the barrier cracked.  The light pulsed around her erratically before drawing itself inward.  Kari clenched her fists at her side.  "I_said_, **Don't Touch Him**!"  The light, the manifestation of her power, exploded from her with gale-like force shattering the energy barrier as easily as glass.

          T.K. opened his eyes feeling a rising energy and looked instinctively to Kari.  He was just in time to watch the explosion of blinding light break through the forcefield and braced himself, eyes closed again for the wave he was sure would hit him with equal force.  He almost fell forward when all he felt was a gentle wind blow past.  He opened his eyes to find his tormentor had not been spared by the blast, but had been violently thrown against the far stone wall, back first.  The creature crumpled to the ground where he lay motionless.  T.K. turned back to Kari who was staring wide-eyed in shock at the shadow demon before sliding to the ground herself.

Saturday 2:40 A.M. 

          Joe bit his lip, taping the needle down on Mimi's arm; dark red blood was already traveling up the clear tube.  He looked up at Mimi.  "You really should be lying down," he told her, "You're going to get light-headed after a few minutes."  There really wasn't anything either of them could do about that.  The i.v. chords were just too short.

          Mimi jumped when she felt an arm wrap firmly around her waist.

          "Don't worry, I won't let you fall," Matt reassured her.  She nodded back with a faint blush.  He smiled at her flustered reaction but felt himself blush right back.

          "Got 'em!" Izzy called from his computer, effectively breaking the moment.  "Mimi and I are the only A positives but Tai, Sora, and Kari are O positive.  You're B, that's no help.  And Matt's AB negative.  Hey, that's pretty rare."

          "Yeah, whatever," Matt mumbled, "A lot of good **that** does."

          Mimi gave his shoulder a quick squeeze when a crack on the coffee table caught her eye.  "Guys, look," she whispered, pointing to the table.  A small crack had appeared next to Kari and was slowly forking and snaking away from the unconscious girl across the table.

          "Tai, is she doing that?" Sora whispered creeping closer.  The words were barely said when the heavy glass table top shattered violently.  Tai barely had time to pull Sora behind himself.  Matt pulled Mimi and T.K. against himself away from the table and Joe spread his arms out to block any stray pieces of glass from hitting Kari.

          "Just what the hell is going **on** in there?!" Tai yelled.

Dark Dimension 

          T.K. forced himself the rest of the way to his feet catching a second wind and made his way to Kari's side.  A quick check reassured him that she had only fainted.  _Figures_, he smiled wryly, _I come to get you out and you get yourself out._  He tucked one arm around her shoulders and another under her knees, lifting her carefully.  He gritted his teeth in pain as his back burned with the added strain.  "Let's get out of here."

          He paused at the entrance near the fallen demon.  He was still breathing.  T.K. frowned.  _He'll come after us when he wakes up.  Best to be free of him now_, his logic insisted.  He shook his head to clear his mind of such disturbing thoughts, no matter how prudent they were_.  I don't think I can lift Kari again if I put her down_, he told himself, stepping out into the hall.

          He headed back the way he had come in but stopped at the sound of voices ahead.  _Okay.  Never mind_, he turned and went in the opposite direction.  _Should've known he wasn't the only one.  Maybe there's another way out._  The pain in his back had dulled to a low burn.  He was hyper-sensitive of the way his damp shirt clung to his back and a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that he was leaving a trail of crimson droplets every few yards.  He swore under his breath with a low growl, _I'm gonna lead them right_to_us. _ Pushing himself to move faster, T.K. concentrated on putting as much distance between himself and his soon-to-be pursuers.

          The sound of rainfall was his first clue that he was near the end.  He followed it through a narrow passage and found himself overlooking a small thicket behind the abandoned town he passed earlier.  _Perfect!  We can hide there!_  He smiled to himself for the first time since finding Kari.  _And the rain will wash away any trail I leave._  With that sobering thought, he pushed off from the wall he was leaning against and started for the village.  He hissed out a few soft curses as the rain hit his sensitive back.  Though, after a few minutes, it didn't hurt so much.  In fact, he could hardly feel anything on his back any more.  _That can't be good._

          He leaned against the fence of an alley to catch his breath.  Whatever adrenalin rush he'd been running off of before had long since evaporated.  He had pushed himself to walk further into the town where there were more houses and less chance of being found but his exhaustion and lack of blood were fast catching up with him.  He peered down the street blinking in the rain.  It was getting much harder to focus his eyes on anything.  A shiver from Kari brought his attention downward.  She had curled against him for warmth and shelter from the rain.  That brought a ghost of a smile to his lips before he started off again.  _Just pick one already!_  He balanced Kari against himself precariously and tried the doorknob of the nearest door which was, thankfully, unlocked, and bolted it behind him.  His legs absolutely refused to take another step forward and he slid to the wooden floor, holding Kari tightly to his chest as if she was his link to consciousness.  _Matt…Tai…what do I do now?_

**Saturday 2:50 A.M.**

          Matt jerked his head up from leaning against his brother's and surveyed the room slowly.  He had the strangest feeling that someone had just called his name…but he wasn't quite sure who.  He frowned, noticing Tai doing the same thing across the room.  Catching the digidestined's leader's eye, he sent a questioning glance to which Tai shook his head, looking equally puzzled.

          Matt sighed and glanced up to Mimi, leaning against his side.  Her eyes were closed and he had a feeling that if he let go of her, she'd slip straight to the floor.  "Hey Joe," he whispered, nudging the older boy with his foot, "I think Mimi's had enough."

          Joe swore under his breath removing the needle from her arm and pressing a square of gauze over the needle mark.  "Press on this and hold your arm straight up," he ordered cutting several long strips of tape.  "Izzy, you're next," he called over his shoulder winding the tape around the gauze in a makeshift armband.

          Matt reluctantly let Mimi out of his grip to give Izzy and Joe more room.  He bit his lip watching her stumble over the broken glass.  "Don't move too fast, Mimi.  You'll get dizzy," he called after her.

          "I'm used to it," she muttered back, sitting on the floor against the couch oblivious of the glass.

          "This is so wrong," Joe fretted swabbing down Izzy's arm, "Practicing without a license.  Re-using needles.  Make-shift equipment.  I'm going to lose my license before I get it."

          Matt pressed a hand to T.K.'s forehead for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.  _He feels like ice!  _"Joe?"

          "I'm going to be black-listed."

          "Joe."

          "I'll probably wind up practicing illegally in some tiny room in a third world na-"

          "**Joe!**"  Joe paused in his ranting to glance over his shoulder to Matt.  "Is he supposed to be this cold?"

          The older boy touched the back of his hand to T.K.'s clammy cheek and a finger to the young boy's pulse at his neck only confirmed what he already knew.  With a heavy sigh, he could only shake his head, not able to look Matt in the eye.

          Matt jerked his gaze away from Joe, shifting it instead to Izzy and then Gennai, tirelessly standing his post as i.v. stand.  "But…I thought…,"

          "He's losing blood faster than we're getting it in him," Joe answered following his gaze, "All we're really doing is buying him time."

          "There's got to be something else we can do," Matt argued.

          "Why bother?" a soft voice piped up from the floor near the balcony.  All eyes turned incredulously to the small cat sitting against the sliding glass door.  "You're only delaying the inevitable.  They've already won."

          Sora was the first to recover, her shock turning to anger.  "How_can_you_**say** that!  T.K.'s your **friend** Gatomon!" she all but yelled at the listless digimon.

          "But she's right.  We can't beat them," Patamon mumbled from where he lay next to Gatomon staring at some point on the carpet.

          "Don't you start too, Patamon.  Don't you **dare** give up on T.K.," Tai growled angrily.  His only response was an almost imperceptible twitch of Gatomon's tail.  An impatient beeping from Izzy's open computer drew his attention away from the two apathetic digimon.

          "Izzy?… Hello?… Is anyone there?"

          With a final angry sigh, Tai turned away and slid into Izzy's now vacant seat.  "What do you need Yolei?" he asked tiredly.

          "Oh, Tai…umm…well, it's like this.  Aquilomon and I were fighting an Ogremon and then right in the middle of the fight, Aquilomon de-evolved to rookie for no reason and I can't get him to digivolve."

          "Are you both alright?  Where's the Ogremon?" he asked, immediately concerned.

          "That's the funny part," Yolei answered," He's over there, under a tree, just…sitting there.  Weird, huh?"

          "Yeah, that is weird," Tai mused, more to himself.  A blinking red light on the vid-window caught his attention.  "Hold on Yolei," he muttered switching to the new screen.  "Cody, what's the problem?"

          "Armadillomon de-evolved to Upumon and the Numamon we were fighting all wandered off," he said getting right to the point.  "Now, Upumon won't digivolve.  He keeps saying 'what's the use?'  It was so strange…like everyone just gave up.  Uhh…what do I do?"

          "Good question,"  Tai answered running a hand through his hair.  "Hang on, someone else is calling in."

          "Hey Tai.  I've got a little problem," Davis said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

          "Let me guess.  Everyone quit fighting and Flamedramon de-evolved," Tai quipped dryly.

          "Wow!  You're good!"

          "Hold on," Tai sighed, "What is it Ken?"

          "Bugmon de-evolved to Wormon in the middle of a fight, but…I guess you already know that," he replied catching Tai's expression, "Is everyone else having the same problem?" 

          "Yeah," Tai nodded grimly.  "Listen, Ken.  I want you  to contact the others and find a place where you can all meet up.  If something happens, I don't want anyone caught alone when their digimon may be unwilling or unable to fight."

          "Sure Tai."

          Tai sighed one final time before turning to the others.  "Well… I think we know how they plan to take over the Digital World," he said with a bleak expression, looking to Gennai for confirmation.

          The taller man nodded back sadly.  "Once the wielder of the Crest of Hope is… gone, they will enter the Digital World unopposed."  Matt tightened his grip on his brother as if that alone would keep him on this terrestrial plane.

          Mimi looked up at T.K. for the first time from her spot on the floor.  She was shocked by the drastic change in his now ashen complexion.  She almost gasped when she noticed his fingers, laced through Kari's, visibly relaxing their once tight grip.  _No, you don't_, she clamped a hand over each of T.K.'s to keep his hands from sliding away completely.  _Not yet.  You can't quit on us yet.  Please T.K._

**Dark Dimension**

Kari shifted uncomfortably but stopped when the movement brought a sharp pain behind her eyes.  She moaned softly. _ Why does my head hurt like this?_  Half-forgotten memories of her response to the fight between her captor and best friend swirled to the surface of her still foggy mind.  She mentally gasped remembering how she had flung that creature against the wall.

          Her headache under control, Kari concentrated on her surroundings.  She was vaguely aware of something around her waist.  Her cheek and upper body were leaning against something that seemed to be both hard and soft at the same time, and slowly rising and falling.  Her eyes shot open in realization and she pushed away hard with a furious blush.  T.K. gave a low pained groan but neither opened his eyes nor relinquished his grip from around Kari's waist.  The affect being she couldn't push away very far or get off his lap.  The pain in his voice pulled Kari away from her embarrassment over her position.  "T.K.?  Are you all right?…T.K., let go of me."

          "…no," he slurred drowsily, "…wanna…hold you longer."

          Kari paused in shock for a moment, gaping at him.  _Don't be silly, Kari.  He doesn't mean it **that** way._  "Come on, T.K.  You're hurt," she said out loud, "At least let me check."

          Reluctantly, T.K. let his arms drop to the side as she moved next to him already missing her warmth.  Feeling her hand on his shoulder, he gritted his teeth while she leaned him forward as gently as possible.

          "Oh God!"

          "He really got me, huh?" T.K. quipped weakly.  He forced his eyes open in time to see her stricken expression.  "Is it…really bad?"  All she could do was nod sadly.  "I kinda figured that," he said with an odd half-smile, closing his eyes again.

          "T.K., don't close your eyes!" Kari ordered, blinking back tears.  "You need to lie down and conserve blood."  A quick look around by the light of the constant lightning outside told her the structure they were in was just that, an empty building, devoid of any kind of furniture.  _The floor will have to do._  She gently lowered him onto his back but had the distinct feeling he was humoring her.  She was tugging on the bottom of her pajama top when his hand covered hers, stopping her.

          "What are you doing?" he asked softly.

          "I need to bandage your back," Kari answered somewhat confused why he was stopping her.

          "I think…it's a little late for that," he said, looking down at his hand holding hers.  He looked back up when a drop of water hit his wrist.

          "You **can't** go," she whispered, staring down at their hands intertwined.  "Don't leave me, T.K.  I **need** you." She cried not bothering to stop the tears.

          "No, you don't," he said gently, "You're so much stronger than me, Kari…I never could keep up with you.  You'll be fine."  He closed his eyes again.  _So tired._  It was so tempting to drift back to sleep.

          "T.K.?!…T.K., please!" Kari sobbed, shaking his shoulder.  Not getting a response, she stretched out on the floor next to him and laid her head gently on his chest over his heart. _ Please be there._  It seemed like an eternity before she heard the reassuring beat that meant he was still there.  "Please don't leave me, T.K.  I need you with me," she sobbed against his chest.  She took a deep breath between sobs before continuing, not even sure if he could still hear her.  "I'm so sorry, T.K.  It's my fault that this happened to you.  I'm not the strong person you think I am.  I'm not strong like Tai.  If I had been, neither of us would be here right now.  I would have been able to fight them beter, and you wouldn't be dying like this without ever knowing how much I love you… how much I've always loved you."  She paused hearing his heart quicken for an instant before faltering in an irregular cadence, his hand slackened and slipped from hers.

          She grasped a handful of his blue and green tee-shirt over his chest to give him another shake and felt something hard and warm in her hand.  _His crest._  She pulled it out holding it in her palm, letting its gentle golden glow sooth her.  She had never touched his crest before, she had half imagined it would feel a little strange, alien, like when she messed with Tai's crest, but instead, it felt…natural…like holding her own crest.  Another tear slid down her cheek as she felt his crest's power waning. _ I wish I could do something to stop this.  _In her mind, she imagined herself giving some of her own power to T.K. to keep him alive;  her own crest began glowing with its silver-pink light under her top.  "If only that would really work," she whispered to herself wistfully and ducked her forehead forward against her best friend's crest.

          T.K. was floating.  He felt perfectly calm and peaceful…and weightless.  _This is almost like Yolei's waterbed._  He smiled remembering how Kari had almost fallen asleep on the bed during one of their meetings and he had jumped on next to her, intent on waking her with a massive wave.  He hadn't quite expected his greater weight to cause her to roll on top of him in the little dip he had made.  It had taken a while to disentangle themselves.  Davis sure got mad over that one.

          _Kari!_  He could hear her now, very softly and far away.  She was talking to him, he could hear her blaming herself for his being hurt.  He wished he could hold her and tell her it wasn't her fault, but it was taking all his concentration just to hear her and fight off the need for sleep.  His heart lurched upon hearing her next words.  _She loves me?!_, he wondered in shock.  If he wasn't already floating, he would have been now.  He smiled to himself dazedly almost willing to let Morpheous pull him into his dream world.

          He jumped awake again feeling an almost electrical tingle throughout his entire body and his hand subconsciously went to his chest where his crest would have been.  He could **feel** her.  Her body against his.  Her head on his chest.  Every thought, every emotion running through her mind was wide open to him.  Her fear.  Her worry.  Her wish to give him her own power.  _My crest is reacting to her!_, he realized in awe.

          T.K. could feel a buzzing, almost a vibration building in his chest.  Every muscle in his body tensed, seemingly waiting for something more to come when a brilliant white light exploded behind his eyes.

          Kari had barely touched her forehead to the crest in her hand when it suddenly lit up with a blinding golden light.  She jerked up to a sitting position as T.K.'s body seized in a massive spasm, arching his back off the floor.  One of his hands clenched the nearest thing, her knee, in a bruising grip while the other clawed the wooden floor.  _Oh God!  What's happening!_

**Saturday 3:07 A.M.**

          Joe carefully snipped the bandages and peeled the useless fabric from T.K.'s back.  The room had been absolutely silent for the last fifteen minutes.  Everyone seemed to be listening to T.K.'s breathing getting softer and lighter.  "Matt, I need you to move over so I can wrap his back."  Matt glared at him angrily through tear-filled eyes before leaning away.  Joe sighed, reaching for a new roll of bandages ignoring Matt.  He really didn't blame him for not wanting to let go of his brother, even for a minute.  _I don't even know why I bother_, he mused to himself wrapping the bandage around T.K.'s torso.  _It's not like this could possibly help._  He just about dropped the roll when T.K. gave a loud gasp and his body went completely stiff.

          "What's happening?!" Matt demanded in a panicked voice, "Joe?!"  Joe remained silent, staring wide-eyed at T.K.'s back.  Matt followed his gaze and felt his jaw drop on seeing the once bone-deep wounds that were suddenly sealing themselves, from the inside…up, becoming shallower and shallower.  _Am I really seeing this?!_  Matt held his breath and tentatively laid his hand flat against his brother's now smooth back.  What had once been three gaping wounds, were now three red scratches…and even those were fading.  T.K.'s body relaxed just as suddenly as it had seized up and Matt gratefully held on to him tightly and just let his tears fall.  He looked up, feeling a hand on his shoulder.

          "T.K.'s going to be fine from now on," Gennai smiled, looking extremely pleased.

          Matt gave him a confused look before dismissing it.  _He's okay.  That's all that matters._

**Dark Dimension**

          T.K. let go of her as his body relaxed again.  Kari gasped watching him open his eyes.  "T.K.?"

          T.K. felt almost bereft when the blinding light faded away.  He had never felt such intense, raw power before.  It had been incredible.  But now, he felt so exhausted, he could barely open his eyes.  _It's a good thing I'm lying down.  I feel like I would probably pass out_, he thought, struggling to wake up.  He smiled, opening his eyes to find an angel leaning over him.  "…hi Kari," he whispered, reaching a hand up and caressing her cheek gently.

          She covered his hand with hers keeping it to her face.  "Y-You're okay?"  He nodded, too fatigued to answer.  With a strangled sob, she collapsed against him and cried.

          "It's okay, Kari," T.K. murmured into her hair soothingly, holding her tight.  "Everything's going to be okay."  Exhausted, he managed to stay awake until Kari fell asleep in his arms.


End file.
